Brad's Turkey - Spring 2011

April 16th. Brad was hunting in the pouring rain and crazy wind. He got his turkey about 7:45am. 11.5 inch beard and justa little over inch spurs. Thanks to Ean Green for his blind.  We're going to have a good supper tonight!!!  We like wild turkey sooooo much better than store bought!!!

Kaitlyn's Birthday

Kaitlyn's birthday cake that she decorated!  She even decorated the candle with frosting! :)

Kaitlyn's Baptism

Kaitlyn is ready to be baptized by Daddy.

Kaitlyn's Baptism

Natalie Ruth's birthday

Natalie poses with her birthday cake she decorated to look like the stuffed animal she's holding.

Joanna Nicole's birthday

Joanna Nicole poses with her birthday cake she decorated to look like the stuffed animal she's holding.

Ready to be matched

It's hard to believe it's been almost 5 months since we've blogged. Life is flying by! The girls are at such fun ages. They've all had birthdays since our last post - Natalie and Joanna turned 6 in December and Kaitlyn turned 8 in February. They each decorated their own birthday cake.  I've been trying to upload photos, but I guess I'll have to wait until I have access to high speed Internet.

Another highlight of the past few months is that Kaitlyn chose to be baptized. She asked Jesus into her heart a couple years ago and has been asking to be baptized for almost a year. We finally felt she basically understood the meaning of baptism and Brad had the wonderful privilege of baptizing her.

Adoption update:  It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years since we definitely felt God lead us to adopt and began following Him step by step. After several bumps and curves in the road, we believe the time to bring our son home is getting closer -- well, it definitely shouldn't be getting farther away. LOL!!

The agency we are working with requires that we have the 1/2 money at the time of the match and the rest of the money 1 month before the birthmom gives birth or we lose the match. So, we've been trusting God to use finances to help determine the timing of our adoption. For the most part, the money is in, so yesterday we told the agency we are ready to be matched.

We would appreciate your prayers for God's timing, His continued provision, and His glory through this entire process. We are learning so much about trusting Him and waiting on Him!! He is good and His ways are perfect!!

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." ~ the Lord in Isaiah 55:9 (NIV)


"They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31a

The song sung by Aaron Shust expresses the cry of our hearts, not only in adoption, but in every aspect or our lives.  “To God alone be the Glory.  To God alone be the praise.  Everything I say and do, Let be all for You.  The Glory is Yours alone.”

Both Hands Project - 11/6/10

We serve an awesome God!!!


We arrived at Odessa’s home Saturday morning, planning to work on building a pump house for her water pipes so they wouldn’t freeze throughout the winter. When we got there, they didn’t have any water. The night before, the pipes burst. WOW! God’s timing is amazing.

After eating our breakfast provided by Hardees, we got to work. Most of the men started fixing the pipes and building the pump house. The rest of us blew (with leaf blowers) & raked leaves to help clean the last few leaves of fall off the yard and flower beds. (The family had already gotten rid of the majority of the leaves.) This family does everything they can to take care of their property, but because of physical limitations there are some things they cannot do.  Jeff even had the doors to put on the front of the pump house built, painted, and ready to go!

The weather was warmer than expected and we only saw a few flakes of snow throughout the day. We praise the Lord for controlling the weather for us!!! I (Marie) was able to spend some time talking with Odessa and getting to know her better. She’s a wonderful lady and was so thankful for the help our team gave her.

We left the project saying that even if this didn’t raise any money for our adoption, it was worth it. We were so blessed!!! God uses us in many ways and He works out details! We thank God for the privilege of serving this family!

Our team: Pastor John Bunn, Mike Bush, Jeffrey Keith Watts, Tony Watts, Lenora Bush, Marie Angus, Keith Watts (front), Odessa Watts (our widow), Dean Watts.

Not pictured: Brad Angus took the picture, Mark Underwood contacted businesses to sponsor us, and Jeannie & Robert Baker kept our girls while we worked.

Many other people prayed for us and gave toward our adoption.  THANK YOU to everyone who had a part!!!!!

Before - The old pipes

Broken Pipe

Mike & Tony work on a wall for the pump house

Casting Crowns - Always Enough

We are excited about our project tomorrow. I thought I'd share this song since it talks about both the widow and the orphan. The chorus says: "Your love is peace to the broken, faith for the widow, hope for the orphan, strength for the weak. Your love is the anthem of nations, rings out through the ages, and You're always enough for me."

Odessa is encouraged that they'll finally be able to get some things done that have needed to be done for a while. We are already being blessed by her enthusiasm. What a privilege it is to obey the Lord. He always gives back more than we can ever give Him!

We would appreciate your prayers for our team, for Odessa, for the weather (so we can get the most done possible), and our adoption. Thank you!!

Helping a Widow & an Orphan - Nov 6, 2010

Our fundraiser is scheduled for this Saturday.  We would appreciate your prayers!!!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are unable to help Pauline as originally planned, but God is in control and has provided us with another woman we can serve.

Meet Odessa (our widow)
Odessa and Keith were saved and baptized on the same day. They married and began serving God. Keith served as pastor to a couple different churches—serving 23 years at the church he was pastoring when he died.  He also worked as a coal miner for 18 years and lovingly provided for his family. When Keith died, Odessa lost her best friend and life-long partner.  Jeff, their youngest son, does everything he can to care for his mother, but he is confined to a wheelchair because of an accident when he was younger. He does beautiful work with his hands and often makes things for our church when we need them.

Our team is going to spend Saturday morning helping nail up gutters, sealing the edges of the roof, weed-eating, etc.  We are also raising sponsors.  All the money raised will go to the adoption of our son.  So, this fundraiser helps both a widow and an orphan!

Please pray 

• that God will bless Odessa and Jeffrey Keith through our team on Saturday. 
• for weather that will allow us to accomplish the projects they need done.
• that God will continue to provide for our adoption - in HIS time, in His way.
• that God will be glorified through this fundraiser and our adoption.

Approximately $1000 has come in for this fundraiser so far.  We still need $14,000.  With the adoption tax credit, we should get $10,000 back, but we have to have the money up front before we can be matched and bring our son home.  A 3-month no-interest loan seems ideal, but so far, God has not chosen to provide in that way.  Please pray that we will trust His plan and allow Him to provide in His way.


If anyone is interested in supporting a fundraiser like this, donations can be made to any of the projects at http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bhProj.html. Just scroll through the page until you see the picture of the family/project to whom you want your donation to be designated.



If you want to give toward our adoption, you can go to the project link above or if you prefer mail,
please make your tax-deductible checks to Lifesong for Orphans. Please preference how the donation may be used by writing “Angus #1442 adoption” in the memo section of your check.
You can give the check to us or send it to:

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744


Some businesses are giving too. If you know of any businesses that might be interested please pass on the word. They'll get a tax-deductible receipt and, we will list their name on the back of the team's t-shirts if they give $50 or more. We need to know the name they want listed by Saturday Nov 6th to get it put on the t-shirts. (We won't have the shirts by the project date - because I didn't get things organized soon enough, but I think people will wear the shirts afterwards. The front of the shirts will have James 1:27 on them.)
For more information about Both Hands & Lifesong for Orphans, you can check out http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html


If anyone wants a t-shirt, you can get one for $10.  Please let me know what size you want.

Thank you especially for your prayers!!  We serve an awesome God!  We know He will provide in His time and in His way.  To God ALONE be the glory!!!!!!

A Little Goes A Long Way

An infant needing a family. A widow living in Eastern Kentucky who just needs a little help. A group of people desperate for pure religion. What could these three things possibly have in common?


All three are coming together to play key roles in an exciting fundraising opportunity taking place on November 6, 2010. This fundraiser will help us adopt our infant son while we spend a day fixing up a widow’s house. We are asking our family and friends to sponsor us while we work on her home. All the money that is donated will be used to bring our child home to his forever family. Think of it like a charity walk, but instead of us walking to raise money, we are going to support a widow in need. I want to give you an opportunity to participate in this awesome project, if you want to. If not, no big deal, but honestly I hope you find this as irresistible as we do. Both Hands, through its partnership with Lifesong for Orphans, is an organization that is dedicated to comforting widows and helping orphans. Lifesong makes it possible for your contribution to be tax deductible.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV)

Meet Pauline (widow) …

Pauline is a dear lady from our church family who lost her husband almost 2 years ago. Pauline is our neighbor and while her husband Fred was living he often came down and helped us with things around our place. He helped in our garden and even taught our girls how to shuck corn. He was very special to our family and although we miss him, our loss was nothing compared to Pauline’s. She lost her best friend and life-long partner. Since Fred’s death, Pauline has remained active, but is not able to do everything around her place that she would like to. The very day we found out about Both Hands fundraisers, it became clear that Pauline was the widow we wanted to help! Although it was a little difficult for her to accept our offer to help her because she prefers to serve others than to be served, she humbly accepted our offer.

How Can You Help?

We are not all called to adopt, but we can play a part in this wonderful process.

Prayer — Please pray for God’s continued blessing on this adoption process, for God’s timing, that God will bring us the child who will most benefit from joining our family, for the birthparents as they make the difficult decision to allow their child to be adopted and that God would draw them close to Himself through this adoption. Please pray for our family during the waiting time and through the adjustments of adding a child to our family. Please pray for continued blessings on Pauline and for the ministries of the Both Hands Foundation and Lifesong for Orphans.

Team — Please consider joining our team in working Saturday morning (Nov 6th) and/or asking others (friends, businesses, whoever) to financially join our team. You could choose to help another widow and still raise sponsors! We pray this project will raise awareness of the needs of those around us. Even if you can’t work at a widow’s home, you could invite others to join our team.

Financial — Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help cover the remaining $15,000 in adoption expenses as we work with the team to bless the life of this widow, Pauline.

“My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him.” ~ Derek Loux



Every Dollar Helps

Please make your tax-deductible checks to Lifesong for Orphans before November 19th. You may preference how the donation may be used by writing “Angus #1442 adoption” in the memo section of your check.

Mail to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

Donations can also be made online at

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bhProj.html

Just scroll down the page until you see our picture and click on donate.

*100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs—nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans’ administrative costs.

*Please note that in following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the non-profit organization Lifesong for Orphans. They retain full discretion over its use, but intend to honor the donors suggested use.